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Isabelle Fuhrman Lands Female Lead In Stephen King’s Cell

It’s easy to see that Stephen King has been finding huge amounts of success in television and film throughout the past few years (we just won’t mention that Carrie remake). Though the bestselling author has always been hugely popular, Hollywood has really been jumping to option his books of late.

ABC’s adaptation of Under the Dome proved to be a ratings success this past summer, with another season set to debut in June. Meanwhile, NBC is planning a miniseries adaptation of his book The Tommyknockers, adaptations of The Dark Tower and The Stand may finally be gaining traction, True Detective helmer Cary Fukunaga is set to direct a two-part adaptation of It and J.J. Abrams is trying to get his hands around the author’s time-travel tome 11/22/63. Now, one more King adaptation is heating up as well, despite having flown under the radar for quite some time: the apocalyptic zombie yarn Cell.

Based on King’s 2006 novel, the film will follow a father attempting to locate his young son after the world’s population is decimated by an apocalyptic event during which anyone who answers their cell phone hears a pitch that turns them into mindless, vicious animals. The novel mixed in some smart satire about our phones turning us into zombies, and it looks like the film adaptation will do the same. We already knew that John Cusack was set to take on the lead role of graphic artist Clayton Riddell, and that Samuel L. Jackson will play Tom McCourt, who joins Riddell on the journey to find his son.

Now, it’s been announced that Isabelle Fuhrman, known for playing sinister baddies in Orphan and The Hunger Games, will be taking on the key role of Alice, a 15-year old girl who travels with Riddell and McCourt.

Fuhrman has more than proven her acting abilities throughout her career, and given the grim material she’ll have to work with in Cell, I have to say that I’m pretty happy with the acting choice. I’m a little less enthusiastic about the fact that Paranormal Activity 2‘s Tod Williams will be directing the film, but at least Cell will have a strong script to work with. King himself penned the screenplay in collaboration with Adam Alleca, who previously wrote The Last House on the Left. Not one but two accomplished horror writers certainly bodes well for Cell‘s chances of scaring us out of our wits. The film should hit in 2015.

Are you excited for Cell, or does its zombie apocalypse-esque premise seem too familiar in light of the subgenre’s overexposure in recent years? Sound off below.